Unexpected Stories
by WanderingAngel97
Summary: A series of one-shots about our favorite band of dwarves as well as our dear hobbit and wizard. Contains Fem!Bilbo as well as Bagginshield and other pairings. Various characters may be the main character(s) of different episodes and each episode may belong to a different genre of writing. At the beginning of each chapter there is a summary of the one-shot.
1. Some Privacy Please

Some Privacy Please

Summary:

Billanna Baggins is presented with an embarrassing problem. How does one bathe in peace and privacy when traveling with overprotective, male dwarves? (Between movies 1&2)

Billanna Baggins smelled as dirty and nasty as she felt. She hadn't had a decent bath since the company left Rivendell. After a hike up a mountain, a tumble through goblin-infested caves, landing in some rotten mushrooms, getting sap all over her hands from climbing a tree, and then dispatching an orc, well, she felt she deserved a good long soak.

If only the company would leave her alone for a handful of moments so she could slip away. The whole company had become rather bothersome in their overprotectiveness of the hobbit lass since she had stood between Thorin and Azog and nearly been killed by the Pale Orc and his warg. Bofur, Kili, Fili, and Thorin were the worst of the bunch, they hovered constantly. The brothers clung to her sides, while Bofur and Thorin were a bit more discrete in their observation, but no less irritating.

When supper was passed out that evening, Billa saw her chance. Her stomach rumbled in protest, but after weighing her options, and taking a brief whiff of her own odor, which turned her stomach in knots and ruined all thoughts of food, she determined that the bath was preferable.

Grabbing a towel, she slipped away quietly toward the river. She could hear it from their campsite, so she knew it couldn't be far. The whole while, she was careful not to disturb a bush or step on a fallen branch. Any nearby noise would put the company on high alert, and she really didn't want them to catch her before she had a chance to scrub off the dirt and gunk that clung to her body.

When she finally caught sight of the river, she let out a sigh of relief and let the cloth she carried fall to the ground of the bank. She stripped her clothes quickly, realizing as she did that the clothes could use a soak as well. The dwarves wouldn't notice her absence for a while, she thought, or hoped. After all, they had walked quite some distance today. They would be tired, certainly not on their toes enough to notice her gone for a few minutes more, she determined as she waded into the water.

As soon as she was deep enough, she began to rub the muck off her body. Her skin tingled from the cold water, and she shivered. Perhaps she wouldn't stay in as long as she planned. The clothes could wait. Anyways, she realized, she had neglected to bring another pair of clothes with her when she set out to bathe. Now that would have been embarrassing indeed, to return to the camp in naught but a wet towel. She let out a small chuckle, how the hobbits of the Shire would have reacted. All respectability would have certainly been lost if she found herself in such a situation in the Shire. Before this journey, she would have been as scandalized as any other Hobbit, but now—well, now it seemed so silly.

Nakedness was no issue with the dwarves. In the few times she had seen them bathe they strutted around without a care in the world. They certainly were not bothered by spectators, be they dwarves, elves, or poor hobbit lasses that happened upon them by accident. Oh, how red faced she had become. Especially when Thorin, only feet deep in the water, had turned around to greet her completely bare and acted as if it were a normal, everyday occurrence. Her eyes had lingered too long to be proper, and at the memory of what she had seen, her face became red as hot iron once more.

She scrubbed the last of her dirty skin and then dunked her head beneath the water to rid her curls of the grease and leaves that had accumulated there. It seemed to take forever to get the muck out as she ran her hands through her hair, eventually she had to return to the surface for air. It took a moment, as she brushed through her dripping curls, to realize that there were voices calling out her name. Some distant and some rather close.

"Oh bother…" She sighed in annoyance and then opened her mouth to yell at the company to leave her in peace for just a few damn minutes, but was cut off by a large figure stomping into the clearing.

"Bi—" The figure starts to yell, but the sound clogs up in his throat as he sees the young, naked Hobbit lass in water only to her waist.

"Thorin!" Billa screeches and ducks down into the water, covering herself from view. Thorin's face turns a violent shade of red and he swivels around, either to give her privacy or to hide his own embarrassment, Billa cannot tell.

In the distance she can still hear the rest of the company calling out for her. Thorin shifts uneasily, and then straightens.

"I will tell the company that you are safe and that you will rejoin us when you are finished." Without waiting for a reply he walks, at a restrained pace, back towards camp.

As soon as he's out of sight, Billa dunks her head underwater and detangles the rest of the leaves from her hair. Then, checking if the coast is clear, she emerges from the water and dries herself off with the towel before pulling on her traveling trousers and shirt. She walks to camp as dignified as she can manage and sits down with the company without a word.

For several moments there is nothing but silence, then with a smirk, Bofur pipes up.

"Gave Thorin quite the show, didn't ya lass?"

Thorin flushes scarlet and Billa gasps in outrage, throwing the wet towel in her hands at Bofur's head. It just grazes his forehead and smacks full force into his hat. The hat and towel slam into a tree behind the miner and he goes scrambling for his precious hat. At that, the company gives into a few chuckles and even Thorin and Billa can't help but lift their lips into a smile. That is, until they catch sight of one another, blush and both turn away. Then the whole company bursts into rancorous, booming laughter.


	2. The Best Laid Plans

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Hobbit or Lord of the Rings. Some dialogue is used from the movies directed by Peter Jackson and some of the original dialogue has been changed. Again, I don't own any of that, that's all Peter Jackson and J.R.R. Tolkien. This disclaimer goes for this entire series of one-shots.**

 **The Best Laid Plans**

 **Summary:**

 **Thorin confronts Smaug and has a plan in place to trap and kill the dragon, but can he do it when Smaug holds tiny Billanna Baggins in his claws?**

Thorin stands upon the rocky mold of his trap, he can see Smaug standing before him. The dragon's back is turned and it cannot see the Dwarven King. The beast begins to slither away, toward the open entrance. That won't do for the trap at all, Thorin thinks to himself. He needs the dragon's attention for it to work.

"Here, you witless worm!" He calls out from his perch. Even from this distance he can see how the dragon's scales flutter against the serpent's skin in anger. Slowly, it turns.

"You." Its voice rumbles from deep within.

Thorin steels his nerves and proudly proclaims, "I am taking back what you stole."

The dragon stalks towards him, strangely, one paw remains tucked against the beast's chest as it nears.

"You will take nothing." It responds calmly, yet with thinly veiled rage. "I defeated your warriors, I ate the flesh of your people, and instilled terror in the hearts of men at the whisper of my name. I am _King_ under the Mountain, and you will do well to remember it, _Thorin Oakenshield._ "

The dragon's paw moved forward and Thorin's grip tightened on the rope to signal the company to activate the trap. He nearly pulled when movement and a glimpse of golden curls stopped him dead in his tracks.

A muffled scream of his name sent chills down his spine. Down there, in the dragon's claws, lay Billanna Baggins.

"Billa—" He began, but the dragon cut him off.

"So you _do_ know this little thief." Smaug's features changed into what could almost be called a smirk. "And you seem to care for her, tell me Oakenshield, is she your wench?"

Anger flickered over his skin like fire. "Do not call her that." Thorin's voice dangerously low.

"So she is." The dragon looked rather pleased with himself, and even more so as he clenched his fist slightly and Billa screamed. Thorin leaped forward on instinct, but stopped himself from attacking the dragon as the serpent pinned him with a threatening glare. The dragon could crush her at a whim if it wanted. Thorin couldn't risk angering the dragon more, not with his Billa in its claws. The dragon's features melded once more into amusement.

"Let her go." Thorin's voice broke from its usual demanding tone and descended into pleading. "This is between you and me."

The dragon looked down and opened his fist just enough for Billa to try to crawl through. Thorin couldn't believe his eyes, was Smaug really just letting her go? Hope bloomed in his chest, but was soon extinguished.

She had crawled out to her hips when the dragon trapped her once more in his grasp. Billa grimaced and looked up to Thorin, he called out her name. Her eyes swirled in desperation and then seemed to harden into acceptance. She tried to smile at Thorin, to allay his fears. But the look was so false, it set him on edge.

"This little—" Smaug pauses. "What are you?" He stops to examine the hobbit, but could not discover any answer through observation. "Well, I guess it doesn't matter burglar. You stole from me, and no one steals from me. I will drop you, Barrel-Rider, into the heart of Laketown, and then I will burn it to ashes, and you along with it. Very few things can survive my fire, and I do not think you are one of them."

Then the dragon turns to the Dwarven King. "And you, Oakenshield, can watch from here until my return. Enjoy these halls while you can." The dragon then slithers toward the exit, Billa in hand. Thorin takes another rope and swings down from the trap and then races after the serpent. The company, having abandoned their posts behind the cast of their trap long ago, follow shortly behind him. But none of them are quick enough.

The dragon pauses at the exit and with one last glance toward the Company, it smirks.

"If you can."

Then Smaug takes off into the air, carrying their precious burglar away to her death.

Thorin collapses onto his knees. Balin places a comforting hand on his shoulder and the younger dwarf leans into him, his eyes downcast.

"Perhaps when Smaug releases her, she'll land in water and be able to swim to safety?" Balin offers, but Thorin's shoulders only begin to shake in despair.

"Billa can't swim."

 **A/N**

 **Should I continue with this one-shot and make it into a two part? Please review!**


	3. The Best Laid Plans Part II

**The Best Laid Plans Part II**

 **Summary:**

 **The dragon Smaug has captured Billanna Baggins and intends to drop her into Laketown, destroy the town, and her along with it. Will Billa survive, or will Thorin lose his dear Hobbit lass?**

Billa didn't struggle against the dragon's hold as it carried her away from the mountain. Its grip was too strong, and she doubted she would survive a fall from this height onto the cold, hard ground that surrounded the mountainside. The desolation of Smaug, the dwarves had called it, and from this height, Billa could see the wide expanse of land the dragon had burned to a crisp. Billa imagined that the barren wasteland made it easier for Smaug to hear anything that approached the mountain. If the dragon's claims could be believed, his senses were sharp enough to challenge the Valar.

She wondered if the dragon had felt the dwarves footsteps, had smelt their food cook at evening meals, had heard the whispered affections she and Thorin had exchanged beneath the stars.

There would be no more warm embraces in the cool mountain air, no more secret smiles, no more thoughts of a future between Thorin and Billa. Her eyes burned as she blinked back tears. No she would not cry, she told herself firmly, even as her heart seized in agony as a stray thought of a little boy with large—but not large enough for a hobbit—hairless feet, black curling hair, and bright blue eyes danced across her mind. All those things she had wanted to do in her youth, and even into her adult years, but had not had the courage to pursue came rushing to her mind.

Billa regretted much, so many things she could hardly list them all, but she could not find it in her heart to regret joining this mad quest, even as it led her to her death.

And she would die, of that she was sure. The fall alone would probably kill her, but if she somehow survived that and landed in the water, she would drown. No hobbit could swim. Even if she fell onto Laketown's wooden platforms and survived, she would still burn in Smaug's fire as he set the town ablaze.

She wondered how she would die, and which might be preferable, though in the end it didn't really matter. Death was not something she desired, but she would have it.

Billa could see the lake beneath them, and then wooden houses on stilts in the lake. Her body tensed in anticipation of what was to come.

Suddenly there was a bright light, tinted with red and orange. The dragon roared and the people bellowed screamed, and then she was falling.

Her vision blurred into streaks of light and darkness, a glimpse of a tower with a dwarfish wind-lance, and then nothing but cold and wet.

She was in the water.

In a burst of energy she fought her way up, and as she broke the surface she opened her mouth and took a deep breath of air. For a moment, she thought she might just make it, but then she began to sink again. Her hands and feet flailed as she struggled to stay above the water. Her neck, her mouth, her nose, her eyes, and then eventually the crown of her head descended beneath the dark waters of the lake.

Billa left her eyes open, searching for something to grab onto and pull herself back up to the air, but she couldn't see anything. Nothing, but black, unforgiving, cold water. The hobbit lass pushed against the water, trying to float back up to the surface, but try as she might, she only seemed to sink further beneath the ink-colored lake.

She was losing energy and air, she thought of Thorin and the company to give her the will to fight, and it did. Billa clawed her way up, but still couldn't break the surface.

Hobbits weren't meant to swim.

Her lungs burned and her eyes stung. The cold began to set in.

Her limbs felt numb and her reactions sluggish. She was fading, and as she realized this, a jolt of panic ran through her, but her body did not respond. All her concentration funneled into holding her breath. Her hands moved weakly toward the surface, but her body began to ebb further onward into the dark abyss.

 _No…no…I can't…_

 _I don't want to…_

Her lips parted without her permission and liquid poured into her lungs. Billa's body spasmed as she tried to cough up the water, only to bring more in. Her precious air shooting to the surface, almost mockingly. The pounding of her heart became frantic and her limps began to move in all directions, turning her this way and that as energy ran through her, but she could no longer tell which way was up and which way was down.

 _Air…air…_

 _I need air…_

Her mind was consumed by it, the need to breathe. But she couldn't find the surface and her lungs were full of water. She still coughed violently, trying fruitlessly to expel the liquid.

Slowly, her senses began to fade. The urgency for air didn't seem so urgent anymore. Everything was falling into silence and calm, darkness and tranquility.

 _There's no need to fight,_ the darkness seemed to say.

 _Let go…let go…_

And she did.

 **A/N**

 **Should I make this into a three part story? Please review!**

 **No reviews = end of this "one"-shot story. All I need is one review to continue it!**

 **Your review matters!**

 **I realized while writing this that the word "swim" in the line "Hobbits weren't meant to swim" is the 666** **th** **word of this chapter. Rather ironic, don't you think?**


	4. The Best Laid Plans Part III

**The Best Laid Plans Part III**

 **Summary: Laketown is ablaze with dragon fire. Fili, Kili, Bofur, and Oin are making their escape with Tauriel and Bard's children. Unbeknownst to the group, nearby a Hobbit lass is fighting for her life. Will they find her in time?**

Destruction and death surrounded the small company as they glided through the icy waters of what was left of Laketown. The group was huddled together in a long, thin fishing boat. Tauriel stood up front, watching for signs of safe passage. Fili, Bofur, and Oin were at the paddles as well as Bard's oldest daughter, Sigrid, who took up the position after her brother had taken off after, presumably, their father. Kili, not yet fully recovered from his bout with the Morgul shaft, lay at the back of the boat with Sigrid's younger sister, Tilda. The poor girl was frightened out of her wits and sobbing into Kili's shoulder. He tried to comfort her as best he could, but little seemed to help.

The group was about to pass beyond the shelter of an underpass when Tauriel signaled to stop. The dwarves and Sigrid slowed the boat to a crawl and then a long awaited stop just before the end of the tunnel. A burst of dragon fire suddenly consumed the waterway they had nearly just entered along with several unfortunate men and women on boats in the canal.

Without a word, Tauriel motioned for the group to continue onward.

As they passed by the boats, the wood cracked and snapped as the vessels burned. Kili caught a glimpse of a charred limb hanging from the side of the vessel. Smoke poured from it, and the smell was enough to make the dwarf gag and his eyes water. He never wanted to smell that scent again.

Oin and Bofur, both of whom had lived in Erebor before the dragon, were unaffected by the smell, but their faces were grim masks. Kili wondered if the sight and smell were familiar to them, if they had seen so much after the dragon's attack that they had grown accustomed to it.

Then Bofur's mouth turned into a deep set frown. No, not accustomed, merely tolerant enough of it to continue onward.

The boat turned a corner. Fili kept sending worried glances over his shoulder at his brother and inched a little closer after witnessing the charred bodies of the townsfolk. Kili tried to send his brother a reassuring smile, but an ill-timed shot of pain ran through his leg, and the smile turned into a quick grimace. Upon seeing his brother's pain, Fili abandoned his post and went to him.

"I'm fine, I'm fine." Kili waved him off, and though he was secretly pleased his brother cared now was not the moment to lose their heads. "Just worry about getting us out of—"

A splash of water cut him off.

He turned to look, and found nothing but rippling water for a moment. Then a hand pierced the inky surface of the lake before plunging beneath it.

"Look, someone's in the water!" He called out to the group and they turned to see.

"I don't see anythin'" Bofur said.

"There's ripples in the water, but are you sure you didn't just see sumthin' fall in?" Oin asked skeptically.

"I definitely saw a hand reaching out from the water." Kili affirmed, moving to get a better look. "But they haven't come back up."

"We are vulnerable here, we must move on." Tauriel called from the front.

"There's someone in the water, they can't swim. I'm going to go after them." Kili went to dive into the water, only to be pulled back by his brother.

"You are not getting in the water. You'll get sick, and you're already injured." Fili hissed angrily, sitting Kili away from the edge.

Frustration burned through Kili. Couldn't they see that the person in the water could be drowning by now?

"Well somebody has to go!" He yelled in frustration.

The dwarves then began to argue amongst themselves about who should go and who should definitely not, until finally Bofur had enough, tossed his hat to Kili, and jumped into the water.

The water was frigid, but Bofur was a dwarf. It would take more than a little cold water to do him in. He swam quickly toward the ripples Oin had pointed out earlier. They were gone now, but he could still see where they had been. When he reached the spot, he dove down into the black water. Being a dwarf, he had exceptionally good eyesight in the dark, and being a miner, he had good night vision for even a dwarf.

Bofur turned around in the water, trying to spy the person that Kili had claimed to see drowning in the lake. It took a little while, but he eventually spotted a figure floating in the water. The person was so very still.

 _Probably already dead._ Bofur thought sorrowfully, but swam toward the figure all the same.

The closer he got, the more he could discern about the figure. The person was female and small, wearing a skirt that moved with the currents of the lake. A few feet closer he could see golden curls and soft features, though they were not yet pronounced to his eyes, and rather large feet. Feet that should not belong to such a small figure. Feet with curling golden hair upon them.

Recognition hit Bofur with all the force of a stone giant.

 _Billa._

The dwarf couldn't fathom how she had gotten back to Laketown. Hadn't she been with Thorin and the others? But none of that mattered right now. She wasn't moving and looked far too pale for anything living.

He grabbed hold of the Hobbit around her waist, there was no resistance and that set Bofur into a panic. He shot toward the surface as fast as he could. When he reached the surface, he called for help and the dwarves paddled the boat toward Bofur, who met them halfway.

"Billa?" They each called out in confused astonishment.

"What is she doing here?" Fili asked Bofur as he pulled the dwarf into the boat.

"No time." He said pushing the prince aside. "Oin, she's not breathing."

Oin pushed the others aside while Tauriel directed the other dwarves to row the boat to a safer location. They did so, although reluctant to move from Billa's side as the dwarfish doctor checked her heartbeat and then began compressions on her chest.

"One, two, three…" He began to count. Billa's body simply lay there, cold and silent. "Come on lass." He said under his breath as the boat glided into safe harbor.

The dwarves once more crowded around Billa and the doctor. Moments passed by in baited breath as fear and hope mixed in the surrounding air. Oin continued on, counting each compression, soon he was to twenty, then thirty, and then forty.

"Fourty two…" Oin muttered, his back had hunched over in despair, but he would continue until all hope was lost.

Suddenly the Hobbit lass's back bowed and she flipped over onto her stomach, retching water out onto the floor of the boat. The small company cheered, Bofur gave Oin a good pat on the back and then hugged the deaf dwarf. Then he turned to Billa and enveloped her in a hug, along with Fili, Kili, and Tilda, who had all pounced on the poor Hobbit as soon as she was able to breathe properly.

"Billa!" Kili shouted with all the cheer of a Shireling enjoying Gandalf's fireworks.

"We thought we might have lost you," Fili said, and ruffled the hobbit's soaking curls. "Glad to know our burglar is made of stronger stuff."

Billa simply smiled and she sagged in relief against them all.

"Whoa, whoa, steady there lassie. We don't want you to fall." Bofur fussed and sat her down onto a small wooden bench before shooing the others away to their seats so as not to crowd the poor girl.

"How did you get here?" Fili asked.

"Yeah, we thought you were with our uncle." Kili continued, worriedly.

Billa nodded. "I was, but Smaug…" Her voice drifted and she swallowed.

 _Ah. That would explain it._

"Say no more, we understand." Oin said softly as he noticed she began to shiver. Bofur noticed this too and retrieved his precious hat from where it had been tossed aside and fit it onto the Hobbit lass's head. Fili followed suit by draping his coat around her shoulders. She sent grateful looks to both, and then her eyes widened and she scrambled toward the edge of the boat where she could see the outline of Erebor in the glow of the moon.

"Thorin. He's still up there, and the others!" Her voice was frantic and raw from coughing up the lake water. "Smaug said he would return to the mountain to hunt them down. We have to get them out of there!"

But it was, in that very moment, that Smaug fell from the sky with an infuriated and frightened scream. Then his body landed in the heart of Laketown. Billa watched anxiously toward where the dragon fell, but when there was no sound or movement from the beast her shoulders relaxed and her knees gave. Fili caught her and she sobbed as she smiled.

The beast was no more and her Thorin was safe.

She did believe the worst was behind them.

 **A/N**

 **And there you have it, part three of The Best Laid Plans mini one-shot saga. My longest one-shot yet for this story!**

 **A special thanks to all my reviewers, especially LazyPandicorn, Thilbo4Ever, and Missteag who voted for a part three to this story. I couldn't have done it without you guys.**

 **I have no plans to continue this story further, but that may change in the future. As for now, I will be going back to posting single shot stories. Which will probably consist of a lot of Fem!Bilbo and Thilbo Bagginshield, but I will be putting in other characters into these stories as well, so not every one-shot is going to be Fem!Bilbo or focus on Bagginshield**

 **I hope you like my stories and please review! Reviews make writers happy and wanting to continue to write for you.**


	5. Cravings

**Cravings**

 **Summary: Billanna Baggins and Thorin Oakenshield are due to have a baby and have come to the Shire to announce the good news to Billa's family in person. While there Billa begins to have some strange cravings and Thorin scrambles to fulfill her every wish.**

 **Notes: Bill and Thorin married in early winter and arrive in the Shire about half-way through spring.**

 **Warnings: Billa gets horny briefly, nothing explicit.**

"We're here!" Billa exclaimed, jumping up and down excitedly. Thorin smiled at her softly, he loved her, but he loved her especially so when she was excited and happy. She radiated with a glow that could rival the sun.

She was his heart of hearts, his soulmate, his One.

Billa turned to Thorin and grasped his hand before racing down the hill. Thorin, surprised the sudden movement, nearly tripped as he scrambled to find his feet and follow her.

"Whoa, slow down Billa." He chuckled, but underneath the smile he was nervous. The bump of her belly that she now sported had moved her center of balance. Billa was now more wobbily on her feet and she tripped a good deal more than she had before the pregnancy. He didn't want her to fall and hurt herself, or their unborn child, their _dwobbit_ , he remembered her cooing to the child growing in her belly one night as she sat by the hearth in the cold winter that had followed their reclaiming of the mountain.

The Hobbit lass smiled sheepishly to him as she slowed. "You're right, I forget that it is different here than it is in Erebor." The tone of her voice turned teasing. "I cannot run around like a Shireling and be a respectable hobbit lass."

"Certainly not." Thorin replied with a smirk as he spied a pair of hobbits in their gardens eyeing the pair suspiciously.

He was not offended by their caution, Billa had warned him of the behavior of Hobbits toward strangers. It was not much different to dwarves, or at least at first it was dissimilar. Once it was deemed in the Shire that you were not – how did Billa put it – a disturber of the peace, then outsiders were welcome with open arms. It took far longer with dwarves, trust was something that was hard-won with dwarves. Thorin should know, his trust may by far be the hardest to win, or it once was. With Billa at his side, he felt himself relax and begin to trust in goodwill of others again. He even found himself slightly, _very slightly_ , fond of Billa's elven friend, Elrond.

The more Thorin thought about it, the more parallels he could draw between dwarves and Hobbits. While it did not seem so at first, Hobbits too had their secrets. While dwarves held their language and crafts in secrecy, the Hobbits jealously protected their food recipes and gardening practices. Dwarves found beauty in the gems of the earth, and Hobbits found beauty in the plants that grew from the earth. Hobbits even had a language of the flowers, each bloom had a different meaning and they wove them together to form crowns and weaved them into their loved ones hair.

While Thorin loved how Billa looked in the gems and crafts of his people, he found himself beginning to appreciate growing things and the beauty of the earth's surface and wondered how much more beautiful Billa would look in a flower crown, sitting upon soft, grassy hills, and watching the sun set in the West.

"-rin? Thorin, are you in there?" He heard Billa call. Turning, he took his own turn looking sheepish.

"Sorry, _Marlel_ _ê_ , I got lost in thought."

Billa simply smiled and pulled him to the right. "Let's go to my grandmother's. The Tooks will probably be the best to confront first."

"Aye." He had been told about the different Hobbit families, the Tooks were the adventurous kind and certainly the most open-minded of the Hobbits. He was a little apprehensive about meeting the Bagginses, and prayed to Aule that he wouldn't be unfortunate enough to come across the Sacksville-Bagginses.

"Lead on, Ghivashel."

Adamanta Took, Billa's grandmother, was by far the most intimidating woman he ever met. She wasn't frightening in her physical appearance, but rather in her calculated gaze and how her eyes had turned to slits when she saw Billa's bulging belly. The glare she had given him was enough to chill him to his core, images of being thrown into the river with his hands and feet tied together danced across his mind, he inched a little closer to his wife. Adamanta smirked when she saw his movement, but her eyes grew no less cold. The woman was only sated when Billa grabbed onto him, introduced him to the crowd, merrily announced that they were married, and that they had a baby on the way.

Then her relatives crowded in around her, asking her questions about how the pregnancy was faring so far as well as the marriage and demanding to know why they hadn't been invited to the wedding.

"We planned to have the wedding in the winter in Erebor and then come to the Shire to celebrate with you, but we found out shortly after that I was pregnant. Thorin was concerned for my safety on the road during the winter to begin with, but after the discovery, he was quite a ball of tangled nerves. I thought it would be best to wait out the winter for both our sakes. Anyways, this way we can be here in the Shire for the birth. I want the family to see our little bundle of joy." She smiled widely, but Thorin was confused. They were only supposed to be here for a month or two before they set back off toward Erebor.

"Billa, I thought we were leaving in a month or two. I mean, if you want to stay here for the next nine months, we can, but I'll need to send word to Erebor and set up a governing system in place till we return."

"Nine months?" Billa looked startled and then understanding drew its way across her face. "Thorin, how long do dwarvish pregnancies last?"

"About a year, sometimes more. Why?" He heard a gasp behind him and someone whisper, _"Dear Yavanna, a year?"_

"Hobbit pregnancies tend to only last about five to six months, I'm past four months. I'll be five months soon."

Thorin's head spun, he blinked and gaped, trying to find words but failing quite miserably.

 _Five to six months?_

"My little flower, it is a good thing you came back when you did, I'm not sure the dwarves would have known how to handle you in the final months." One of Billa's aunts spoke. That finally got Thorin out of his shock.

"We dwarves know perfectly well how to birth a child." He huffed and crossed his arms, quite put off by the Hobbits' lack of confidence.

The insulting Hobbit simply smiled, a tender and sweet smile. "Dear dwarf, that is not what I meant, but I suppose you will understand soon enough."

Billa blushed profusely, embarrassed for some reason. Thorin quite liked the color, it reminded him of amber. A gem most dwarves wouldn't look twice at, but the dwarvish king had always found it to hold an enchanting hue, and when the light hit it just right, it would glow like a bright fire.

Still, Thorin wondered what the Hobbit woman had meant.

It was near time for the Hobbits' luncheon, so they all sat down together, with Billa and Thorin sitting near Billa's grandmother. The woman seemed fonder of him since his declaration to stay in the Shire for as long as Billa needed. His willingness to place aside his kingdom and entrust it to those of his Company had won him some approval from the Hobbits. Looking around, he could understand why this was so. The Hobbits with spouses never seemed to stray too far from one another, like magnets they attracted one another unconsciously. The expressions which adorned their faces and the glow in their eyes upon gazing at their other halves was that of complete an utter adoration and love.

It was the look a dwarf would give his One.

So perhaps Hobbits and dwarves were similar in yet another way.

"Billa, what would you like to eat?" One of Billa's younger cousins asked, Saradoc, he thought the boy's name to be.

"Oh!" Billa jumped in surprise at being asked first. "Umm, could I get a sandwich with pickles and peanut butter? Oh and bacon and jam as well?"

The table fell silent.

"Certainly." Saradoc said with no amount of certainty, but headed toward the kitchen all the same.

" _It's starting."_ Someone whispered. Billa's face went as red as a ruby before she buried her head beneath her arms in embarrassment. Throin, concerned, leaned over her, and offered a gentle hand around her shoulders.

"What do they mean, Billa? Are you not well, is that what they mean?"

She shook her head, but didn't lift her face to meet his gaze.

"Do not worry, Thorin Oakenshield, it is simply the Cravings."Adamanta Took soothed. "Every Hobbit lass gets them in the last few months of pregnancy. Billa is lucky she did not get them earlier, it would have made for a rather awkward journey here."

"Cravings?" Thorin's eyebrows scrunched in confusion, he had never heard of such an ailment. Darrowdams never got sick during pregnancy, or ever really. Dwarves did not suffer from diseases like Men or, apparently, Hobbits did.

"Yes, Cravings." The old Hobbit woman confirmed, but there was an odd sparkle in her eye. Some instinctual part of Thorin raised in alarm. "The best thing you can do is give her what she asks for, bend to her every whim, you might say."

"Grandmother!" Billa shouted indignantly, her face still red from embarrassment, but at least it was no longer buried beneath her arms.

Thorin took Adamanta Took's advice to heart. He would do whatever it took to make sure Billa returned to good health.

Billa and Thorin were invited to stay with her cousin, Drogo, and his wife Primula, who, by Billa's will, had inherited Bag End. While here, since it had been established that Billa was very much alive, Billa planned to formally hand over the deed to the house to Drogo and his wife, and establish with the Thain, Billa's grandfather, that the house was to remain with Drogo's family and his descendants. Billa's grandfather, a Took, wasn't able to greet her at her arrival due to issues with the Sacksville-Bagginses that he was forced to deal with, and hadn't been able to meet his granddaughter that day – it made Thorin despise the Sacksville-Bagginses all the more. The Thain would be eager to meet with his granddaughter, of that, Thorin was sure.

As the days passed, Billa's food orders became stranger and stranger. Thorin did his best to sate these desires, but he was beginning to become concerned with the food combinations. Grape jelly and fried fish simply did not belong together in a sandwich.

One day, while putting together a boiled egg, blackberries, and peanut butter on two pieces of bread, he heard Billa cry out. Naturally, he bolted out of the kitchen and into the sitting room where he had left her to put together their mid-day meal. He made his way to her and checked his pregnant wife for injuries, she had none that he could see, but she was sobbing openly.

"Billa, _Marlel_ _ê_ , what is wrong?" He looked into her puffy face as she sniffled and wiped tears from her eyes.

"It fell." She said simply and then pointed toward the floor, he followed her gaze until his eyes settled upon a single, fluffy, white feather.

He blinked.

Were these "cravings" some sort of madness?

"It fell," She sniffled. "And I can't bend over to pick it up."

 _Ah._ That would explain it. Billa was heavily pregnant and by this point it was hard for her to bend over. Still, he did not see why a little feather merited his _Ghivashel's_ tears.

He knelt and picked up the tiny feather, then he placed it in his wife's hand and tenderly wrapped her fingers around it.

"There's no need to cry, _Agy_ _âdê_ , I will always be here when you need me." He kissed her soft knuckles and brings her closer to him. She looks up at him in awe, a strange look for the Hobbit who always humbled him. It made him a little uneasy, and rightfully so when not a moment later the Hobbit laid a scorching kiss on his lips and her hands roamed his body.

Thorin grasped hold of his wife's hands, looking quite flustered.

"What are you doing?"

She burst into tears.

"Do *hiccup* you not want me?" Billa wailed, and Thorin looked on in horror.

"No, no, of course I want you Billa!" He scrambled, trying to find the right words to calm her down. "It's just that it's not safe to be intimate while you are so close to giving birth. I do not wish to risk your or our child's wellbeing."

Then of course, the Hobbit lass began to cry for an entirely different reason.

The Cravings were certainly some kind of madness, of that, Thorin was absolutely certain.

Billa's mood swings progressively got worse as the pregnancy neared its completion. Drogo and Primula helped by maintaining a well-stocked pantry. Primula was able to calm Billa down quite a bit most of the time, and while Drogo attempted to aid him as well, he almost always ended up making things worse.

Thorin recalled the young Hobbit sitting down with Billa's grandmother on the Baggins side, Laura Baggins, and bemoan the fact that he was of little use in helping Billa through her mood swings.

"It's just practice, laddie, for when Primula is with child." She replied with a knowing smile.

Drogo blanched. "Yavanna help me."

Thorin was becoming well versed in the art of dealing with a Cravings-mad Billa Baggins, but he still wished for his fiery, yet collected burglar of his heart. He hoped that once the pregnancy was over, this madness would lift. It appeared to have done so with the other Hobbit lasses, so it would do well to assume that the same would occur for Billa, but there was still a part of him that worried.

These Cravings were nothing like his Gold Madness, he shouldn't be worried in the slightest. And Billa had a good head on her shoulders.

There was no reason to worry.

At least not for his wife's mental state.

But what if there were complications with the birth? Thorin knew no accounts of a Hobbit and dwarf creating a child together. What if the strain was too much for her? He hadn't thought of it before, but he could lose her if the birth went ill, and their child.

His shoulders were tense and began to shake slightly from the strain of keeping his emotions in check. He blinked away the water that had gathered in his eyes. He could not be weak now, Billa needed him to be strong.

A hand settled on his shoulder, startling him. He looked up to see his wife.

"You're scared." It wasn't a question, but a statement. He wanted to deny it, his pride demanded it, but he couldn't, he wouldn't lie to his wife, his One. He nodded.

"You shouldn't be, you're going to make an excellent father." Billa smiled and the whole room brightened.

Thorin shook his head. "That is not what I fear." He took her hand and held it in both of his before bringing it to his lips and kissing her fingertips. Then he leaned forward and leaned his head in against her stomach. He closed his eyes and listened for a moment. He could hear the light pitter-patter of their child's heartbeat.

"I'm worried I might lose you both."

Slowly he opened his eyes and looked up to Billa. There were tears in her eyes, but a harsh determination as well.

"You listen to me Thorin Oakenshield, and you listen good and proper. I am not leaving you, ever. We're going to make it through this and have a lovely baby boy to add to our family."

Thorin stood and Billa hugged herself to his chest for several minutes before speaking.

"A baby boy, huh? How do you know?" He teased, bringing a smile to her face.

"Mother's intuition."

Billa gave birth about a week and a half later, it was a long affair and gave Thorin more gray hairs than he would like to admit, but both mother and _son_ emerged healthy, although understandably exhausted. Billa and their son, a little dwobbit with big feet and sapphire eyes, rested while Thorin took vigil over the pair. A smile tugged at his lips and he granted it passage onto his face.

His family was safe, they had made it through this trial.

When Billa finally began to stir once more, Thorin made his way over to her side.

"Good evening." He greeted.

"Is it that time already?" She said, astounded.

"Yes, but you both needed the time to rest."

Billa looked down to the bundle resting in her arms.

"Hello, Frerin." She smiled.

Thorin froze, and Billa upon realizing what she had just said, began to explain herself.

"I thought of the name the night my contractions started, I wanted to talk to you about it, ask if it would be okay, but it was the perfect name for him, I thought. A way to honor your brother. I'm sorry if I overstepped–" Billa babbled before Thorin cut her off.

"No, no, it's perfect, you were right. It's just been so long since I last heard that name."

It had been a very long time, almost since the battle in which his brother had died. A century and a half had passed since that day. Thorin wasn't able to protect his brother, he wasn't able to save him, but he would protect little Frerin and Billa with his life, his soul, his very being if that was to be required of him.

Thorin brushed aside the small tuft of hair on his child's soft head. The baby giggled.

"Greetings, Little Frerin."

There was a rumbling sound which confused the dwarvish king before he pin-pointed its origin to be Billa's stomach. She hadn't eaten for the better part of a day, she would certainly be hungry.

"What would you like to eat, _Atm_ _ê_ _l_ _ê_?"

Billa's eyes brightened even more. "Could I get a bacon and apple sandwich with honey?"

Thorin chuckled, it seemed as if the Cravings would persist for some time.

"As you wish, _Marlel_ _ê_."

 **A/N**

 **Hey guys, sorry it took me so long to put this one up. I had a wedding to go to last week in California and lots of work to do for my college classes. This one-shot turned out to be a whole lot longer than I thought it would be so I hope that makes up for taking so long. Also, I stayed up past 1AM working on this, so if there are any mistakes, please don't judge me too harshly.**

 **Please Review!**

Dwarvish Words:

Ghivashel – treasure of all treasures

Marlelê – my love of all loves

Agyâdê – my happiness

Atmêlê – my breath of all breaths

(If there is a mistranslation please let me know, I got these from another writer's translations because I couldn't find a translator for Khuzdul on the internet.)


	6. Far Away Affection

**Far Away Affection**

 **Summary: Thorin Oakenshield fell in love with Billanna Baggins on their journey to Erebor, and so did Bofur.**

 **Note: The timeline does not always follow the original events of the series because I wanted it to be more dramatic. Also I'd imagine that Bofur falling for Billa would have an effect on some events. Additionally this story is a slow transition from past to present.**

Bofur couldn't recall the exact moment he fell in love with Billa Baggins. It wasn't long after the Company had met her.He remembered her greeting them at the door, he'd fallen over into the pile of dwarves that had crowded around her doorway. She was so small, such a delicate thing. The way she fussed about her dishes being tossed around after dinner had brought a smile to his face, and he couldn't resist teasing her about the dragon when the contract was presented to her. Though he did regret not being there to catch her when she fainted and toppled over.

Thorin had been there to catch her, though he wasn't happy about it. Still, Bofur wondered if that was where their love had begun to grow. He wondered that if he had been there to catch her, if she might have fallen in love with him instead.

It was a foolish train of thought, but one he often found himself exploring.

Then there was the incident with the trolls. Billa placed her own life on the line to distract the trolls so the dwarves wouldn't be eaten. She had been the only one not captured, and she had them chasing her till the light of dawn, when the trolls became stone statues, never to move again. By that point, Bofur knew she had earned his total respect, as well as some of the Company's respect.

Some took longer, including Thorin.

The fall into the Goblin Tunnels had given them all a fright. Especially Bofur, when he discovered that their burglar was not amongst them. He had kicked and yelled at the goblins who held him in an attempt to escape so he could go and rescue his friend from whatever fate had befallen her. Thorin, to his credit, had a distressed look in his eye upon realizing that Billa was missing, but he gave nothing away to the goblin king. Bofur could not fault him for his lack of reaction, if the goblin king had discovered that they were missing a member of their Company, he would have had her hunted down. Billa may have never made it out of the Goblin Tunnels.

But he could fault him for the horrid way he had spoken of Billa once they had escaped the tunnels. Calling her a coward, and saying that she had no place amongst them.

Looking back, he wondered if that was how Thorin coped with the thought of losing her. He hadn't claimed her dead, just run off. Perhaps it was easier for Thorin to hate her, believing she had run off, than for him to miss her, because she was dead. Bofur didn't know when Thorin had fallen for Billa exactly, he'd always assumed it was after she saved him from Azog, maybe even after she had set them free from Thranduil's dungeon. After the Goblin Tunnels, Bofur didn't think that Thorin loved Billa just yet, but he certainly cared for her.

Cared enough to glare at Bofur when he scooped Billa up in an embrace when she reappeared, having escaped the tunnels all on her own, though she would not elaborate on how she had done it. Bofur supposed it didn't matter how, he was simply glad she was alive. Though the reason why she had returned had brought him to grateful tears. He fell a little more in love with her.

Then the wargs had howled in the growing night, and they were running. Bofur stuck by Billa, making sure she stayed with them. He helped her up into a tree before leaping up into another. The trees fell, and they clambered onto the last one standing as Azog's forces closed in around them. Then the last tree began to fall, and when it came to a creaking halt, his eyes searched frantically for Billa, and then his brother and cousin. It was then that he realized how much Billa meant to him, that he sought out reassurance of her safety before that of his own family.

Of course this realization was rather poorly timed.

Then Thorin, the great idiot, tried to face Azog's forces on his own. He was only saved by a brave Hobbit lass who tackled and dispatched his would-be executioner.

Upon seeing Billa's defiant act, Azog set his white Warg on her. It knocked her to the ground and sunk its foul teeth deep into her calf as she tried to crawl away. Her scream still haunted Bofur. She slashed at the Warg's snout and it leaped away, teeth bared and growling.

Then the Eagles came and picked her and the others up in their talons, leading them away to safety. At the top of a large rock, the Eagles set them down. Bofur and several other dwarves immediately surrounded Billa and Thorin. The wizard attended to Thorin, who was unconscious, while Oin saw to Billa's wounds. She was rather delirious at this point, having lost a good amount of blood. The dwarfish doctor cleaned the puncture wounds as best he could and then wrapped them in some cloth strips that he fished out from his bag.

When Thorin awoke, he immediately asked for Billa. When Gandalf told him of her condition, he stood up and made his way over to their burglar, despite protests and fears for their king's health. Thorin sat down beside Billa and took her hand, he thanked her for her bravery and asked forgiveness for his rudeness. Billa, one who easily forgave, waved off his apologies, telling him he was not wrong to doubt her, and that she too had doubted her own resolve.

She certainly had Thorin's respect by this point, and perhaps even more.

Still, Billa would need proper supplies to fully recover. A few days into their travel, Oin discovered the beginnings of an infection from the Warg's bite. Gandalf, ever helpful, suggested the home of an associate of his. Though associate was stretching it, as the dwarves would learn.

They stayed at Beorn's home for the better part of two weeks while Billa recovered. She and Thorin spoke well into the night most days. The king seemed determined to make up for his bad behavior, and the two became closer for it. Bofur could not help but become jealous at the sight, though he did nothing, because the smile Billa wore when she conversed with Thorin was well worth it. Perhaps if Bofur had intervened then, Billa would have become closer to the miner as well, but that was not the case.

When Billa was well enough to move around on her own with no pain, they set out for Erebor once more. The plan was to cut through Mirkwood. Bofur couldn't remember much about the forest. His memory of it was hazy, like a mist lied over it. He remembered going around in circles, it seemed. And then the spiders, with their long spindly legs and orb-like eyes, dark and without emotion. In their inebriated state, it was no surprise that the dwarves were captured. They were all so out of it by the time they were set free and captured by the Mirkwood elves, that they didn't realize they were without their burglar until they had nearly reached the gate to the elven kingdom.

There was little they could do for their burglar but hope that she had made it through the forest alive. The others held out hope that Billa would be able to sneak past the elven guards and free them, Bofur hoped for this as well, but he couldn't help but feel selfish at the thought. Freeing the Company would put Billa's life in danger.

She risked it anyway when she came to inform the group of their leader's condition. Thorin had been separated from the main group, probably as some sort of bargaining chip for Thranduil. They were all relieved at the news, and even more so when their burglar told them she had formed an escape plan.

Soon it had come time for them to escape, Billa freed Thorin first, as he was furthest away from the cellars and their escape route. When Billa unlocked his cell door, Bofur could immediately tell that the atmosphere between Billa and Thorin had changed. Their eyes continuously drifted toward one another, and Thorin unconsciously wandered to Billa's side and stuck by her side on the way down to the cellars, catching her when she stumbled. Then when Billa told the dwarves to get in the barrels, he did not hesitate and actually admonished the others for not following suit right away.

Then the lever was pulled, Bofur felt panic when he had realized that their burglar was not with them. The foolish lass had forgotten herself in her own plan. But it was not long before the trapdoor opened suddenly and Billa tumbled down into the river. There was an audible sigh of relief from the Company. That was, until they realized their Hobbit lass could not swim. Thankfully Thorin had been quick enough to realize this and, being the closest one to her, fish her out of the water before settling her into an empty barrel. Bofur saw him hesitant for a moment before he heaved her into the barrel, subtlely – but not subtlely enough for Bofur's keen eye – checking how much room was in his own, before coming to the conclusion that they would not both fit.

The ride down the river was dizzying to say the least, by the time they reached a lull in the current Bofur noticed that Billa, whose head barely peaked over the edge of the barrel, had turned a sickly green. He helped her out of her barrel and she fell to her knees on the stone shore, the cracking sound had made Bofur wince. He helped her to her feet while rubbing her back, hoping that it would help in some way, he was no healer, just a simple miner.

Not a minute later, the archer, Bard, appeared, his bow drawn and aimed at poor Ori. Dwalin had charged at the bowman and Kili drew up a rock to throw. Two well-placed arrows made them think twice. In the commotion, Thorin had placed himself between Billa, Bofur, and the bowman. In the end, somehow Balin had convinced the bowman to take them on his barge into Laketown in exchange for some coin.

The journey was not pleasant. The lake was freezing, the barrels were cramped, the fish were slimy and smelly – enough to make even Bombur gag a little – and sneaking into the bowman's home through the toilets was simply degrading, but nonetheless, they made it into Laketown with barely a hitch.

Until they saw the poor excuse for weapons that the bowman offered, that is.

The dwarves grumbled and groaned. Billa tried to appease the dwarves by saying that though the weapons might not be aesthetically pleasing, they looked plenty dangerous to her. The dwarves rolled their eyes, after all, most everything looked a bit dangerous to the Hobbit lass.

In the end, the dwarves decided to raid the town armory, Billa had reluctantly tagged along. Bofur had tried to dissuade her, but the lass was stubborn once she had made her mind up. As they made their way toward the armory, Bofur could see the look of hesitance in Thorin's eye at allowing her to come with them on this dangerous venture – if they were caught they could very well be executed. However, Billa's stealth skills had impressed them all in Thranduil's dungeon, he couldn't deny that they could be useful. Her skills were unneeded of course, the armory was so lightly guarded that a light-footed troll could sneak in and the people of this town would never know.

They snuck in through an open window and began gathering weapons. Billa and Kili were tasked with gathering weapons and taking them down the stairs where they could be smuggled out without a whisper. Bofur noticed that both were having a hard time gathering the materials and decided to help out, but it was not long before they were discovered and the men descended upon them like wolves. Bofur had gone to conk one of the men on the head with the flat side of a blade when he saw a sword at Billa's throat. She bit her lip and glanced nervously over to Thorin, who laid his arms down immediately.

The Company was corralled into the main square of the town where the master of the town, an oily, shifty-eyed man, awaited them. Bofur hid Billa behind him, safely tucked between him and a few members of the Company to his back and sides who closed in around the Hobbit so as to protect her if the need came. But the mood quickly turned to celebration with a few charismatic words from Thorin, and the evening was soon filled with drink and merriment.

Bofur didn't remember much of that night, but when he woke up the next morning under a dining table and no dwarf or Hobbit in sight, he knew he had overslept and would miss the departure of the Company if he did not hurry. So he ran, ran all the way to the dock, just to see most of the Company, including Billa, drifting away. Only Oin, Fili, and a rather pale looking Kili remained on the dock.

He would not see his precious Hobbit for many more days. In those days, they were attacked by Orcs, Kili was saved by an elvish woman and proclaimed his love to said elvish woman – Thorin would be in for a shock when the Company reunited – Laketown was burned to a crisp by Smaug, and the dragon was slain by Bard.

But Bofur, Kili, Fili, and Oin had no idea whether or not the rest of the Company had survived, after all, the dragon had awakened. Bofur constantly chewed on his fingernails in anxiety. Wasn't it Billa's job to enter the mountain first and see if the dragon was alive? The words he had spoken in the Hobbit's home all those months earlier came back to haunt him as the group trekked on toward the Lonely Mountain. He couldn't bear it if Billa had been turned to nothing more than a pile of ash.

Upon entering the mountain, they were greeted with the welcome sight of Billanna Baggins racing toward them. She did not greet them, which was most unlike the Hobbit, and immediately cautioned them against entering the mountain. She spoke of some kind of evil that laid over the halls and the fear in her eyes convinced Bofur that there was something amiss in these once warm halls. Not that it would have taken much to convince him to side with Billa, as smitten as he was.

But something had caught Fili's eye and he raced past Billa and into the depths of the mountain with Kili following close behind. The others chased after the pair, and it was not long before they were greeted with the magnificent sight of Erebor's limitless wealth. In the midst of the treasure stood Thorin, cloaked in a robe of fur, his skin looked pale and the rings beneath his eyes were dark and sickly. His words held no less charisma and his stature was still that of a king, but something was off.

Bofur brushed it aside as exhaustion, their journey had been long and had its fair share of dangers. Perhaps the excitement had finally worn off and their king was finally recuperating as he should. He later wished he had been more guarded and wary of Thorin's new state. The little things he had noticed and brushed aside – the frustration, the way his words had more bite than usual, his obsession with the Arkenstone, how he would never leave the treasury, when he broke his word to the people of Laketown, and the loss of those loving gazes he had once showered upon the Hobbit – would have prepared him against and shown him the danger that Thorin was to their little Hobbit lass.

It wasn't until the Company was clad in armor at the top of the gate, prepared for war, and their little Billa had confessed to handing over the Arkenstone to the men of Laketown as a bargaining chip to rebuild their lives, that Bofur realized how costly his absent-minded trust had been. Thorin grabbed Billa and dangled her in the air, beyond the safety of the gate, spouting insults and angry words as she gripped his arm for dear life. The miner dove toward the pair, desperate to save his friend, the woman he had come to cherish, although she was not his. He was not alone, several others scrambled to her rescue, but the king was strong and they were fearful that he might drop her if they fought too fiercely.

But of all the desperate pleas to spare Billa's life, it was only Gandalf's booming voice that pierced the veil of Thorin's rage. The dwarfish king returned Billa to the safety of the wall, and Bofur quickly led her away from the insane dwarf and to a rope that fell to the bottom of the gate. She climbed down with no hesitation and Bofur followed, promising quietly to the others that he would keep her safe.

Thorin would see it as a traitorous act to leave with Billa, but Bofur didn't care, he couldn't live under the rule of a man driven to insanity by Dragon-sickness, one who, in his insanity, had tossed aside the bonds of their fellowship. Thorin had threatened Billa and dangled her over a wall. Her fear-stricken eyes were, and would forever be, burned into Bofur's memory.

He wondered now if the image was burned into Thorin's memory as well.

A small, vindictive part of him hoped that the memory haunted Thorin.

There was a slight shake in Billa's shoulders as she and Bofur made their way over to Gandalf and merged into the elvish ranks. Glancing over his shoulder, he wished his brothers had come with them and away from their insane king, but he knew why they stayed. Loyalty, hope, he admired these traits in his brethren, and whether or not Thorin saw it, Bofur was still loyal, at least to the man Thorin had been before the gold-sickness had taken him. Bofur would protect the woman Thorin had undoubtably loved before he fell.

Bofur wasn't naïve enough to believe that it was only for Thorin though.

The next several minutes – or maybe it was closer to an hour, he couldn't tell – were a blur. Orcs and goblins descended upon the congregated armies and chaos ensued. Bofur kept Billa in sight at all times and deflected swords and axes that went her way as they scrambled towards the cover in the city of Dale. There, they met with Gandalf and a pair of elves, one of them the woman Kili had professed his love to. The elves brought troubling news about another army coming from the North.

By then, Thorin had emerged from the mountain with the other dwarves, he seemed different – even from a distance – than the dragon-sick, dwarfish king they had grown accustomed to in the past few weeks. The miner did not miss the twinkle of hope in the Hobbit's eyes as she gazed upon Thorin, it made his heart ache, but he pushed the feeling aside.

Throin, Fili, Kili, and Dwalin were at Ravenhill, to the North. Right in the path of the oncoming army. If they were not warned soon, there was no doubt that they would all perish, no matter how proficient their combat skills were. Despite the fact that Thorin had hurt her, Billa still cared about him. His loss would be devastating, but that aside, she had also grown close to his nephews and even Dwalin. She cared deeply for all of them.

So it was no surprise when Billa volunteered to warn them, putting aside the possible risk, and promptly disappeared without a trace. Bofur glanced around, trying to find signs of where she might have gone, but could not find a footprint in the chaotic terrain. He didn't need it though, he knew where she was going, so he simply made his way toward Ravenhill, cutting down Orcs along the way.

When he finally reached Ravenhill, he saw that Billa had already found Thorin and Dwalin and was telling them about the army. Bofur, on the other side of the frozen river, breathed a sigh of relief and was about to make his way over to them when he heard the sound of Orc drums from the outpost next to him.

Up on a ledge of the ruined structure, stood the pale Orc, Azog, and in his grasp was Fili, who struggled in the Orc's grasp. Bofur didn't think, he simply drew back his throwing axe and flung it straight toward Azog. The hatchet buried itself in the Orc's armor and drew black blood, the creature screamed and let go of Fili, who had been dangling over the edge. He fell the two stories to the ground and a sickening crack and scream filled the air as he landed.

Kili, who had been just an arm's width away from where his brother had landed, sprung to Fili's aid. Bofur ran up to the brothers and helped Fili to his feet. They needed to get out of the area quickly or they would all perish. Soon, he and the brothers began to make their way across the river, Thorin ran up to meet them and helped carry Fili, freeing Kili to use his bow. Fili let out a stifled whimper when his foot dragged against the surface of the river.

Across the river, Bofur caught sight of Dwalin and Billa combating a group of goblins, mercenaries for the Orcs no doubt. Billa had a dozen rocks strewn around her, she would pick them up two or three at a time and throw them at the goblins, nailing them on the head every single time. Apparently the Hobbit hadn't been lying when she claimed she had good aim all those months ago in the Shire.

She bent down to grab more stones to throw and didn't see the orcs rounding the corner, and when she straightened back up, a large orc with metal armor embedded into its skin slammed the end of his weapon into her skull and continued onward. Billa dropped like the rocks she had collected. Thorin and Bofur screamed out her name simultaneously and Thorin went to run to her, but was stopped when he realized he was still carrying his injured nephew. Kili and Dwalin were too embroiled in combat to check on her well-being.

It was a long and torturous journey to reach the Hobbit.

When they finally did reach her, they quickly but gently set Fili down and Bofur checked over the Hobbits vitals, Oin had shown him how to do this once, in case there was ever a accident down in the mines. She was breathing and had a steady pulse. She was in decent condition, just knocked out. Thorin choked out a sigh of relief.

A fierce and vicious yell cracked the air around them. The voice was unmistakable.

Azog.

Thorin brushed a stray curl from Billa's face, muttering an apology in Khuzdul, and took her hand, placing a rough kiss onto her fragile fingers. He placed her arm down gently and looked to Bofur, a silent question, a hopeful command.

Please, protect her.

The miner nodded. As if the dwarfish king needed to ask, Bofur would protect Billa with his life.

Thorin picked up his sword and made his way to the icy river, where Kili and Azog were already fighting. Kili was holding his own for the moment, but it was clear he was outmatched, but with Thorin, the pair would prevail.

The battle was long and frightening. The opponents twirled around one another, as if part of a deadly, intricate dance. And when the ice broke Kili nearly slipped into the icy river along with the pale Orc, but Thorin grabbed him at the last second and pulled him to safety. The Orc surprised them all by bursting through the ice and attacking Thorin. Caught off guard, Thorin was nearly skewered, but a well-placed blow from Kili distracted Azog and allowed his uncle to deal the fatal blow.

The pale Orc, with a look of surprise upon his face, crumbled into a heap and moved no more.

Eagles filled the air and Billa stirred. Her eyes opened, and glazed, took in the sky above her.

"The Eagles are coming." She muttered, dazed, before closing her eyes once more and drifting into oblivion. Bofur shook her lightly, hoping to wake her, but she remained unconscious. Kili ran over to his brother, who gritted his teeth and grinned at his little brother, trying to put on a brave face, though he was in a world of pain.

Thorin returned to Billa's side, his hands searched for something useful to do as Bofur informed the king of his lover's condition. The blonde elf, Legolas, and the she-elf that Kili loved, Tauriel, arrived soon after. The red-haired elf was wounded, though not grievously, and it was obvious that she was relieved to see Kili alive and well. Kili fussed over her while Legolas glared at him and Thorin raised a questioning brow, but wisely said nothing.

At Legolas's suggestion, they made their way down the hill toward Dale. There, Gandalf waited for them and when they arrived he admonished them for not taking better care of his burglar, though he seemed rather joyous to see them all still alive. Fili went immediately to Oin and the elf healers, who determined that he had shattered several bones in his legs and that it would take several months to recover, even with elvish medicine. Thorin was reluctant to allow the elves to heal his nephew, but after seeing how much pain Fili was in and how worried Kili was behaving, he swallowed his pride. The king seemed to be doing that quite a bit since his episode of dragon-sickness. Bofur wondered how the dwarf had been able to cast off the sickness that had consumed his grandfather. It was rumored that no one could recover from gold-sickness. It must have been something very special to break through to him. Bofur's eyes involuntarily glanced over to Billa and gave him the answer to his question. Thorin had not left her side since she had been placed in the healing tents.

Perhaps she was…but it could not be. She was a Hobbit, not a dwarf. The look in Thorin's eye, though, it told a different story.

Bofur slowly made his way over to Thorin, the dwarf glanced at him briefly and then returned his gaze to Billa. The miner's eyes followed. Billa looked so small in that cot, her hair was a jumble of curls and leaves, her skin covered in dirt and blood – both black and red – and her mouth hung open slightly. Her chest rose with each breath, and she shifted in her sleep, but her eyes did not open.

"Is she—" Bofur began.

"She will recover, Oin said she should wake in a few hours." Thorin cut him off quickly. It seemed as if he was trying to reassure himself more than his fellow dwarf.

The miner shifted in his seat. "I'm glad to hear it, very glad, but that's not what I was going to ask."

Thorin looked over to him once more, his eyes were wary. "What is it that you wanted to ask?"

Bofur contemplated whether or not to ask his question, he wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer. He turned his gaze to Billa once more. He may not want to know, but he needed to, for all their sakes.

"Is – Is she your One?"

Thorin took his time answering, or so it seemed to Bofur, who was practically at the edge of his seat waiting for an answer while simultaneously fighting the desire to bolt from the tent before Thorin could utter a word. For a few moments, Bofur could almost see Thorin shake his head, a fantasy, certainly, but one his heart longed for. But it was not to be.

Thorin gave a slow, yet curt, nod before finding his voice again.

"Yes, she is. I have not told her yet. I feel I do not have the right to now, with all the grief I have caused her." Thorin looked down, his eyes full of conflicting emotion.

Bofur looked away, took a deep breath, and swallowed his emotions before turning back to Thorin with a brave face. This was for Billa, and the miner's king. They deserved happiness.

"When she heard about the army heading for you, she didn't even hesitate to run to your aid." He confessed. "She did that, knowing she might not be welcomed, knowing it might mean her death. I saw before the mountain, the look in her eyes. She loved you then, and she still does. I don't know if she'll ever be able to forget what happened, but I know this: it is not in her heart to bear a grudge, especially against someone she cares for." When he had said his piece, he turned to retreat from the tent.

"You love her too, don't you?" Thorin called out to him softly. There was no malice in his voice as there might have been, dwarves could be extremely jealous when it came to their Ones – soulmates, the humans called them – but it seemed the after effects of the dragon-sickness and battle had granted the dwarfish king a level head, even in the most personal of matters. With each passing moment the miner could see more and more of the king he had pledged his allegiance to. It had the odd effect of causing simultaneous joy and despair. He felt guilty for the despair in his heart.

Bofur shoulders sagged slightly.

"Aye," He said. "I do, but that doesn't matter. Billa is what matters and her choice."

"Does she know?" Thorin asked gently, quietly. Bofur did not expect such kindness, but he was grateful for it. His heart was shattered enough as it was. Eventually he would have to pick up the pieces and meld them back together, he knew this, and he would have to, no matter how much it might hurt in the process.

"No," Bofur answered, giving the king a small smile over his shoulder. "And I'd prefer it to stay that way, no need to burden her."

A look of fondness mixed with sorrow crossed Thorin's features. "You're a good dwarf, Bofur. Far more deserving of her affection than me."

The miner shook his head. "Don't say such things to me, you will earn her affection and do right by her. Will you promise me?"

"Of course, all I can in my power, and beyond that." Thorin said without hesitation.

Bofur smiled, his heart felt a little lighter. He turned to leave but stopped just before exiting, casting a glance over his shoulder at Billa and Thorin.

"Let me know when she wakes."

Thorin nodded and then turned back to Billa, his hand covered hers and with his other he brushed aside a loose strand of hair.

Bofur looked away, suppressing his emotions once more, and walked purposefully out of the tent, away from the elves and men, away from the dwarves and the Company, away from Thorin and Billa.

He would always love Billa, in some form or fashion, but he would never let his affection grow too strong. He would love her from afar, he would love her as a friend, a sister, but he would never be able to love her as something more.

It would be enough, eventually. When his heart was healed and no stray thoughts of a life by her side would haunt him.

But for now, he would let himself grieve by the doorstep of his home, Erebor.

In the whispers of the wind and the call of the mountain, the stone sung and the rock whispered to him quiet hymns for the brokenhearted.

 **A/N**

 **Hey guys, sorry it took me so long to update, this one-shot turned out to be a whole lot longer than I originally intended for it to be. Also, I've been extremely swamped by work for my college classes, so I probably won't be able to publish as often as I want, but I will try to update about once a week, or once every two weeks.**

 **I've been working on this particular one-shot for some time, so please let me know what you think of it and review!**

 **Ciao, arrivederci!**


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